The Heliópolis coxed eight secured its thirteenth consecutive victory in the men’s absolute category at the Seville-Betis Regatta, narrowing the historical gap to 30-27 in favor of the Seville rowing classic. The dominance extended to the women’s category (15-19), with only one of the six derbies eluding them, which included candidates and veterans.
In the 57th edition of the Athleteplus.org Seville-Betis Regatta, Real Betis displayed a dominant green and white presence on Saturday, setting the stage for the league derby at the Sánchez Pizjuán. Real Betis triumphed in five out of six coxed eight events against arch-rival Sevilla FC, with Sevilla FC securing victory only in the women’s veteran category at the start of the day at the Guadalquivir dock.
The Seville rowing classic, globally broadcasted on platforms such as the World Rowing YouTube channel, Teledeporte, Canal Sur TV, Betis TV, RTVEPlay, and CanalSur Más, lived up to expectations. Fans witnessed an intense and spectacular morning of regattas with remarkable parity. Following Sevilla FC veterans’ initial triumph, increasing their lead to 2-0, the veterans and male candidates’ over-1,000-meter contests ended with Betis victories (7-21 and 18-20 in total, respectively). The Nervión boats suffered damage in two blade clashes, also conceding defeat in the interspersed female candidates’ event (1-1).
Over the 6-kilometer course from San Jerónimo to the Muelle de las Delicias, Real Betis secured victory in the absolute women’s derby, marking their sixth consecutive win with a time of 20:50.75, compared to their rival’s 21:16.48, leading 15-19 in the Regatta’s history.
The climax of the day unfolded in the absolute men’s event, as Real Betis extended its winning streak to 13, tightening the overall result to 30-27 against Sevilla FC. Despite a close race past the Torre del Oro, Real Betis, powered by the historic Marcelino García setting a personal record of 17, clinched victory with a time of 18:55.86, just seven seconds ahead of Sevilla FC (19:02.77). Sevilla FC will have to wait another year to lift the coveted ‘crocodile,’ known as the José Antonio Muñoz ‘Anchoa’ Trophy.
The trophy presentation for the 57th AthletePlus.org Sevilla-Betis Regatta included notable figures such as the president of the Andalusian Rowing Federation, Miguel Ángel Millán; executive director of World Rowing, Vicent Gaillard; general secretary for Sports of the Junta de Andalucía, José María Arrabal; mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz; Sports delegate of the Seville City Council, Minerva Salas; president of the Spanish Rowing Federation, Asunción Loriente, and other dignitaries.
The Andalusian Rowing Federation organized the 57th Seville-Betis Regatta with support from the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Government of Andalusia, the Municipal Sports Institute of the Seville City Council, the Port of Seville, and AthletePlus.org, among other collaborators. The event maintained its charitable nature, supporting the Spanish Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome Association.